Infamous A Force Of Nature
by R3spawnKin9
Summary: A conduit discovers her powers
1. Chapter 1

**Infamous • A Force of Nature**

 **Chapter I**

Erika seizes the opportunity swiftly rushing in & taking possession of the ball from the fallen opposing player scrabbling to get back on her feet. Erika put herself between the ball & her team's goal, 'what's the deal' she thought glancing down at the girl 'that's the fifth opponent to slip today'. This is a playoff match, had the other team not come prepared to play or was her side having a stroke of extremely good luck, but the thought quickly faded her concentration snapping back to field. She took off running full speed away from her goalkeeper, a few yards up field a defender stood securely awaiting her opportunity to strip the ball away.

With nearly flawless ball control Erika spun clockwise avoiding the defender & continuing her path to the cheer & applause of her team's adoring home crowd. She was on point today not missing a single step & was the clear reason her team was ahead. Even though the game was a third of the way through she didn't feel exhausted at all. The crisp steady breeze kept her cool & collected, the warm sunlight against her brown skin helped fuel her winning determination. She'd always been a great athlete & today seemed to be in particularly good condition with a high competitive spirit.

As she crossed mid field she could see an opposing jersey rapidly closing in behind her, glancing back she hoped that her team's good fortune would strike again & knock over this competitor. Instantly as the idea entered her mind it was like she could feel the turf underneath her challenger's feet twitch, her eyes widened at the sight of the chasing girl tumbling to the ground. A small vine had sprung from the soil & snagged the girl's cleats. Erika's speed drastically reduced "what the hell" she whispered to herself barely moving her mouth eyes lock on the fallen athlete as if in a trance.

"Erika!" One of her unguarded teammates firmly shouted out flailing her arms asking for the ball, the sound of her name being called attracted Erika's attention breaking her gaze on the downed girl. She gave the ball a solid kick in the direction of her ally passing it on, as the ball sped away from her Erika's focus turned back to the now risen opponent. She watched motionlessly as the girl in the number four jersey hurried to get back into the game 'I did that, but how' she ponder rewinding the game in her mind searching for an explanation. Flashing back to the other players who'd tripped up earlier every single one of them went down at the most beneficial time for her.

Fear gripped her in this mental review, fear of the unknown, the uncertain, her heart begin to beat faster as she attempted to sort out her thoughts. 'But how? What exactly was that? What did I do? Was it really me? & if so, could I do it again?' A wave of questions flooded her mind as she stood fixed in place eyes still glue to number four who was now yards away sprinting towards the ball carrier. 'What could have possible happened?' Was it the grass she wondered lowering her vision toward the ground, she remembered almost being able to feel it just a second ago & even in this moment she could feel it, the grass against her cleats as if she were barefoot.

As she focused on the grass it started to overwhelm her senses, in a good way, it appeared as if a brighter green than normal almost illuminating. The smell of nature was extremely potent & it was almost like she could hear it. It felt soothing, refreshing, energetic she started to calm down & got a hold of her emotions. Without any real effort or even fully realizing it she was absorbing energy from the grass, as this energy flowed through her body she felt powerful, unbeatable maybe even unstoppable. The answer to all of her question immediately became clear, she was what the public feared & the D.U.P. had been hunting down for years.

Conduit was the only explanation, "I'm a conduit" she softly muttered under her breath, & the thought of it was exciting, a small smirk washed over her face. "I'm a conduit" she repeated this time a little louder but still soft enough for it to go unheard, her face gave away her elation. In her moment of clarity her mind raced with possibilities both good & bad, 'this could be, no, this is dangerous. If I'm discovered I'll be arrested or more than likely killed', but the fear she felt before in her confusion didn't come back, she wasn't afraid she was thrilled. She was awake & she loved it. Now the only question Erika had left was 'how do I do it again?'

Erika's eyes linked back up with jersey number four who at this point was only a few feet away from the teammate she'd just passed the ball to when the reality of the situation came back to her. 'Up until this point I'd been inadvertently knocking players over but if I do it intentionally it would give our team an unfair advantage. Cheat or play fair? We're ahead & the game is pretty much over anyway, there's no way they can catch up so why not keep the odds in our favor.' & with a little concentration, a mental command & a crafty grin she could feel the grass following her instructions. A thin vine sprang from the turf & quickly coiled around number four's ankle sending her toppling to the ground.

Fortunately the vine was small enough to go unnoticed by the other players & spectators but by the look on number four's face as she glanced down at her feet she definitely found it odd. Not as subtle as Erika had hoped but having just discovered her power she didn't really expect to have a lot of finesse just yet. Never the less the move was successful, it freed up her teammate & gave Erika a little more confidence. She got in plenty of more conduit practice as the last few minutes of the game ticked down, unconcerned about how bad she was making her challengers look. & when the referee blew the final whistle she proudly celebrated with her team & basked in the cheers from the crowd.

After both sides shook hands in a show of good sportsmanship Erika's team headed back to the locker room where the coach gave them praise for a game well played. But Erika barely heard a word, deep in thought about her new found abilities. 'How awesome was that, what else can I do? How much command over grass do I have? Is it just grass? How far can I take my powers?' She couldn't wait to start really testing her powers & pushing their limits. But her thoughts were broken up when a campus security guard firmly knocked on the wall alerting everyone to his presence. "Excuse me ladies sorry to interrupt" he said as he walked into the locker room followed by two D.U.P. soldiers wearing their unmistakable black & yellow armored uniforms & carrying assault rifles.

Erika's heart began pounding the instant she laid eyes on the soldiers, the security guard opened his mouth to say something to the coach but was cut off by one of the soldiers stepping forward & speaking first. "We detected some anomalies out on the field" he announced as he scanned the room looking for any signs of someone specious or something off. "Did anyone notice anything strange while you were out there?" he asked finally resting his gaze on the coach. The room was silent for a few seconds, everyone just stared at the soldier before the coach answered "no, I didn't notice anything. Girls?" she said looking from the soldier to her athletes.

Most of the team nervously answered no while a few girls just shook their heads but Erika stayed silent & didn't move a muscle. She was the source of the anomalies & in that moment being a conduit didn't seem as fun as it did minute ago. But as terrified as she was she kept a composed demeanor so not to give herself away. 'What the hell am I going to do now' she thought 'they don't know it was me, at least not yet but they have some kind of detector so they'll figure it out soon enough. I have to get out of here before they do', she was starting to feel anxious racking her brain for potential escape strategies.

'The looker room doesn't have a backdoor & the windows are too small to fit through, & even if they weren't it's not like I could just make a break for it. There's no telling what's waiting outside, they could have the whole school surrounded. The D.U.P. doesn't mess around when it comes to catching conduits, the fact that they got here so fast is proof of that, the game only ended ten minutes ago.' The soldier's voice echoed thought the room as he spoke again "bio-terrorist are extremely dangerous & there's one somewhere close, are you sure you didn't see anything odd, any little thing could be useful?' & just like his first question he got all negative answers from the team.

But Erika knew that the D.U.P. wouldn't just give up the search based on their word alone, she had to get out of the school & she had to get off campus away from the D.U.P. "Well if no one saw anything that's fine. I just need all of you to follow me outside we have a scanner that'll identify a bio-terrorist and it'll only take a second, no one here has anything to worry about right." As the soldier requested this he nodded his head towards the exit then headed out, most of the girls silently followed but there were a few sighs & groans of frustration. Erika's heart nearly jumped out of her chest but she concealed her anxiety & slowly followed her teammates out of the locker room.

The second D.U.P. soldier was the last out taking a final look around to insure the room was empty. Despite the precarious situation Erika felt a bit of relief when she stepped back outside, it wasn't the worst case scenario she had dreaded. There were only three more D.U.P. soldiers not the infinite army surrounding the school that she had envisioned. They were in the parking lot standing near the visiting team's bus, two of them had rifles & the third had a tablet looking device. The visiting team was lined up, the girl in the front put her hand on the scanner, it beeped & the soldier told her she could get on her team bus.

But being back outside was comforting the soothing scent of the grass alone made Erika feel a little sturdier. Out here she had a lot more options on how to handle her predicament & she explored her choices. 'I can't get scanned there's only five of them, I've seen conduits fighting against the D.U.P. on the news & I bet I'm twice as strong as they are. But then again fighting the D.U.P. wouldn't be anything like tripping girls up on the soccer field, & I just got my powers I might not stand a chance. I could just run maybe I'm way fast than them, all that armor might slow them down & nobody gets hurt. Fight or run? Either way I should get back to the field.'

Suddenly Erika dash towards the soccer field running pass the D.U.P. soldier who was behind her "hey stop!" he yelled raising his gun towards her. But as fast as she was moving she'd already made it to the greenery by the time he'd took proper aim. The second her cleats touched the grass she felt powerful & she knew exactly what she need to do. She started absorbing more power, in a dynamic display creating a radiant green glow as she siphoned a massive amount of energy from the grass leaving the area beneath her feet colorless & bare. Chaos instantly followed the crowd of people scattered, some rushing to hide in the bus some running back into the school & ducking behind parked cars scrabbling to get away from this bio-terrorist.

The D.U.P. all took aim at Erika but held fire due to the dozens of panicking bodies in their line of sight. These people were her friends & classmates she didn't want to see them get hurt so she took off at full speed away from the crowd. Unfortunately for her one of the soldiers now had a clear view of her & opened fire with his assault rifle. But she quickly darted around the side of the school building barely evading his shots, all five soldiers gave chase rushing to catch up. As the first soldier turned the corner after her on sight he didn't hesitate to shoot at the dangerous bio-terrorist.

Erika could hear bullets whizzing past her, it was frightening but only motivated her to run harder there was no turning back now. Yet her luck didn't hold up two rounds hit her square in the back, she slowed & stumbled forward but didn't fall. She was surprised by the effect, the shots were painful but not as lethal as gun shots should have been. But she couldn't just let him continue shooting at her following her instincts she turned around & just let the attacks flow. Targeting the soldier she held out her hand & launched a barrage of sharp edged leaves that easily pierced through his armor as if the leaves were razor steel.

He winced in pain dropped his gun & feel to the ground. When she saw him collapse Erika hoped she hadn't killed him but she didn't have too much time to think about it as two more D.U.P. soldiers flew around the corner. For these two she used a move she was more familiar with but this time she put a lot more strength into it. In a swift motion she extended an arm in the direction of the soldiers' spring up two long slender vines that began coiling around the both of them. The vines quick overtook both enemies causing one to drop his gun before completely entangling them leaving only their heads exposed.

Having used up a good amount of energy & still feeling a slight sting from be shot Erika decided to plug back into her energy source. When the final two D.U.P. soldiers turned the corner they were greeted by the unmistakable green glow of her recharging her power & being healed by the grass. They opened fire immediately & even though she was sort of bulletproof Erika wasn't too eager to get shot again. She zipped to the side trying to avoid their bullets, extending an arm she attempted to grab them with her vine snare. Two vines extended from the grass but missed their targets, both soldiers managing to evade the snare that was currently hold their two colleagues.

In the background Erika could hear the faint sounds of sirens but she couldn't worry about it at the moment she had to stay focused on guys shooting at her. The two D.U.P. soldiers separated attempting to divide her attention, one ran to her left side the other went right. She was getting pelted with bullets from either side. She aim right & launched her leaf razors, the soldier tried to dodge but still caught a few slashes to the arm it wasn't nearly enough to deter him though as he continued shooting. However Erika was quickly reaching her limit, zipping in different direction trying to evade gun fire yet no matter which way she went or how fast she moved she was still being bombarded with bullets.

The pain was starting to overwhelm her, clearly her inexperience was starting to show & to make the situation worse the sirens were getting louder. She seriously couldn't handle more of them right now weather it was D.U.P. back up or police. She'd managed to take down one D.U.P. soldier & restrain another two not bad for a rookie but it was time to cash out. Erika realized if she kept fighting it really wouldn't end well for her, she had to get away before the people connect with the sirens arrived. So in a tactical retreat she turned & ran as fast as her legs would move in the opposite direction the sound of sirens were coming from.


	2. Chapter 2

**Infamous • A Force of Nature**

 **Chapter II**

Erika went sprinting down the street with the two D.U.P. soldiers in pursuit though they didn't fire since the sidewalk was littered with people. Most people sensed the commotion & step out of the path but a few were too busy on at their phones & didn't notice until Erika weaved past them. She bent the first corner she came to, turning left & at the end of the block she crossed the street & went right. She didn't have a real destination in mind the current goal was to just shake her pursuers & she was making up a course one street at a time. Her adrenaline was pumping as she bolted across streets narrowly evading cars, drivers having to slam on their brakes to avoid an accident.

Yet her spontaneous actions were paying off, she was creating a decent amount of separation between herself & the soldiers. But just as Erika started to pull away from her pursuers she caught the blaring sounds of sirens in the distance. At the rate she was going there was a good chance of her losing her two D.U.P. stalkers but she knew trying to outrun a vehicle would be a major problem. A few block ahead she spotted a D.U.P. APC speeding her way. She needed to hide, she needed to get off the street & out of sight immediately. She rushed around the next corner & in desperation ducked into a grocery store.

There were a few looks of concern on the faces of the cashier & customers as Erika burst through the store entrance but no one said anything. She sped walked through the store looking for a rear exit, she found a bathroom & a storage room but no door leading back outside not even an emergency exit. She tried to stay optimistic hoping that the APC didn't see her & would just drive past the store. But no such luck, the APC skid to a stop right in front of the grocers, two D.U.P. soldiers jumped out of the driver & passenger's seat & another three emerged from the double doors in the back. Panic started to set in as she scrambled to think of an idea.

'Damn it I shouldn't have ran in here, now I'm trapped. I can't handle five more soldiers, & no doubt the other two are right around the corner.' Erika was crouched down behind a small row of shelves in the back of grocers, peeking around the side she could see one D.U.P soldier evacuating the store while the other four divided to search for her. 'There's no way I be able to run past all five, but there's no way I'm about to just surrender. If I stay behind the shelves for cover & deal with them one at a time I might come out victorious.' Her heart was pounding & her hands were shaking. She was terrified but this time there was nowhere to run, she had no choice but to defend herself.

Erika could hear footsteps walking down the aisle coming towards her & decided to strike first. Staying low to the ground she swung around from her hiding place & before the D.U.P. soldier could react she launched her leaf razors. A direct hit square in the soldier's chest slicing right through his body armor sending him crashing to the floor with a groan. The noise alerted the other four soldiers & they all immediately converged on the cause. Erika quickly scurried around to the next aisle trying her best to remain hidden. "Find the girl right now" one of the soldiers demanded when he found the body of his squad mate laid out.

The reaming four soldiers stepped up their search, Erika hurried down the aisle wanting to put more distance between herself & them. But as she turned for the next aisle a soldier appeared in front of her, he startled her a bit nonetheless she didn't miss a beat & clipped his legs knocking him over. As he hustled to get back up she impulsively punched him in the side of the helmet to stop him. The blow caused him to stumble backwards, she was a little amazed at her strength but not completely surprised given everything else she could do. She jabbed him again sending him to the floor only this time he was down for the count.

All of the commotion gave away her position, a D.U.P. soldier burst from the far aisle & another appeared at the end of the row she was in & they both opened fire. Erika suffered a few rounds before twisting down the next aisle for cover. As shots continued zipping past the shelf she was taking refuge behind she summoned her courage & leaned from cover launching her leaf razors. The bullets stopped flying after the soldier shooting was blasted in the helmet with a barrage of sharp steel like leaves & went down. But the relief was temporary as another soldier appeared at the opposite end of her row & resumed the gunfire.

Erika held out her hand targeting him for her leaf razor attack but nothing happened. For about half a second she was confused, which rapidly turned into horror when she realized she was completely out of energy. She was standing on a tiled floor & surrounded by four brick walls, there was no grass source to recharge her powers & she was being shot at. But this was a fight she was determined to win, losing would either mean life in a D.U.P. prison or death, two unacceptable outcomes. She charged toward the soldier as he continued to fire, she powered through & endured a few rounds to her upper body before she was close enough to strike.

When she was in range Erika swung as hard as she could & punched the D.U.P. soldier directly in the face cracking his helmet visor & knocking him unconscious. Without stopping she ran out of the aisle & down the next one, she ducked down in an effort to avoid being spotted by the final soldier. She was in pain but it was tolerable & despite being out of juice she was feeling slightly confident having just crushed four D.U.P. soldiers. '& then there was one' she thought 'I just need to drop him & I'm out of here, but I can't get cocky I still need to be careful.' She peeked over the aisle to get a location for her last target but only saw an empty grocery store.


	3. Chapter 3

**Infamous • A Force of Nature**

 **Chapter III**

Erika cautiously made her way down the aisle carefully peering up occasionally looking for her opponent yet doing her best to stay unseen herself. When she came to the end of the row she was a little taken back by what she saw outside the store. Through the glass door entrance she spotted two more D.U.P. soldiers guarding the front of the grocers. Both with their assault rifles ready peering in through the glass examining the store for any signs of commotion. The sight was more upsetting to her than it was startling, there were now two more obstacles to overcome.

'Damn it those two caught up I'd almost forgotten about them, or at least I hope there the two that followed me from school & not more back up. I can't catch a break, & where'd the other guy go.' & just as the thought crossed her mind Erika was hit hard in the back of the head. The unexpected blow was dazing, she grabbed on to one of the shelves to avoid dropping to the ground. She quickly turned around looking for the cause & found the enemy she'd been searching for. Erika couldn't believe that he had managed to sneak up on her, she'd only turn her attention away for a second & he made her pay for it.

But now she was going to return the favor, as the D.U.P. soldier raised his rifle Erika saw an opening & struck before he could pull the trigger. She jabbed him square in the stomach causing him to drop his gun & double over in pain. Ericka took advantage of his vulnerability & immediately followed up with a solid kick to the side of his head knocking off his helmet & causing him to bash his face into the shelf before falling to the floor. As she watched him hit the ground Erika had little sympathy for this D.U.P. soldier who a second ago sucker punched her. Straightaway her attention went back to the two enemies keeping watch over the front door.

Erika was exhausted, in pain, out of energy & unfortunately the fight wasn't over yet. 'Ok two more, hopefully the last two. I need to handle this carefully, I can't just rush them they'll gun me down before I get close.' But Erika realizes the D.U.P. soldiers weren't about to give her time to strategize as a small metal canister landed a few feet away from her. She instantly recognize the device & her heart sank as she grasped the fact that they had just thrown a grenade into the store. She frantically scrambled down the aisle attempting to distance herself from the destructive implement. However she only managed to take about four steps before the device detonated.

Instead of the massive explosion she was anticipating Erika only heard a slight popping sound. She turn to discovery a tan fume rapidly spewing from the canister, & then she heard the clanking sound of a second canister hit the ground & then a third. The grocers was hastily filling with tear gas, Erika started to panic as her eyes began to sting & water & her vision became cloudy. She tried to hold her breathe but given the tense situation she didn't hold out long & unwillingly inhaled the noxious gas. Her lungs were burning as she coughed & choked. She was getting desperate for relief, she had to get out of the store which meant heading toward the two armed & waiting D.U.P. soldiers guarding the only exit.

With no other choice Erika reluctantly made her way toward the door, it was somewhat difficult for her to navigate to the front of the store given her eyes were scorching. She took a second to prepare herself mentally for the fight that was waiting outside before pulling open the door & stepping out coughing & gasping for fresh air. But the instant Erika exited the grocers' one of the D.U.P. soldiers smash her in the face with the stock of his rifle sending her crashing to the ground. "Stay down!" the soldier commanded shoving his gun in her face, but even in the disoriented condition she was in she had no intention of complying.

Even while hazily staring down the barrel of an assault rifle Erika wasn't afraid of the D.U.P. any more, she despised them for the torment there'd caused her. 'From the moment I discovered my powers the D.U.P. have been hounding me. I've already dropped over a half dozen of these idiots I'm not letting these last two cowards drag me to some hole in the ground prison just because I'm different.' Erika refused to surrender, she was hell bent on succeeding. So much so that she could sense the energy source that she desperately need, looking past the D.U.P. soldier standing over her she could vaguely make out a tree planted across the street. She wasn't sure if she could recharge her powers from the tree but it was natural greenery & she was intuitively drawn to it so it was at lease worth a try.

Erika slapped the gun out of her face, hopped up & pushed past the soldier making a mad dash for the tree. Both soldiers let loose with their rifles, bullets pelted Erika from behind as she bolted across the road but she ignored the ache & stayed focused on the goal. The instant she reached the tree there was a gleaming green light as she drew energy from the leaves turning them brown & lifeless. Now fully recharged her pain & fatigue vanished replace once again by that superb unstoppable feeling. Erika had a devious grin on her face as she turned to face her final two opponents ready to repay them for all of the hardship they'd put her through.

On a mental instruction an emerald orb began to form in Erika's hand, she then threw the orb at the two D.U.P. soldiers still firing at her from in front of the grocery store. As the orb hit the ground in between them it erupted in a cloud of toxic spores that engulfed them both. As there armor started to singe the soldiers dropped to the knees in obvious agony, Erika watched as they got a much more lethal taste of what she had experienced when they threw tear gas canisters at her. Erika felt a sense of satisfaction as her last two enemies collapsed on the sidewalk, she had just triumph over a group of armed forces trained to hunt down people like her.

She was glad that she'd developed these powers, she was grateful to be a conduit. & if people hated her for it, if they wanted to condemn her for her gifts, then Erika would give them good reason to be afraid. 'After the damage I've caused here the D.U.P. will definitely be on the lookout for me & when they do catch up they better bring everything they've got because I'll be ready.'

 **Finish**

Thanks for taking the time to read my story, the next one is in the works.


End file.
